BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Junior Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio) had a big night on Wednesday night against W&J, but it wasn't enough against the Presidents as the Geneva College women's basketball team fell 80-65 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action.  W&J improved to 11-7, 6-4 in the PAC, while the Golden Tornadoes dropped to 2-15, 1-9 in the PAC.

The game couldn't have started much better for Geneva.  Melnek opened the game with a three-pointer, and after a W&J turnover, sophomore Paige Repine (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center) knocked down another three-pointer.  Junior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) added a jumper, pushing Geneva's lead to 8-0 before the Presidents got on the board.  Another three-pointer by Melnek two minutes later gave the Golden Tornadoes their biggest lead of the game, 13-4.

W&J quickly answered back, though, scoring seven straight in just over a minute of action to pull the Presidents within 13-11.  W&J then scored the final six points of the first quarter to take its first lead of the game, 20-18.

Senior Meghan Hirneisen (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle, Pa.) opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to give Geneva the lead back, 21-20, but it would prove to be the last lead of the game for the Golden Tornadoes.  W&J scored eight straight points over the next four minutes, and with the Presidents leading 33-27 with three minutes remaining in the half, the W&J finished the half on a 13-5 run to take a 46-32 lead into the break.

Melnek opened the second half with a three-pointer as Geneva scored the first eleven points to pull within 46-43, with Melnek accounting for eight of those points.  However, that was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get, with W&J pushing the lead back out to 58-50 going into the final quarter.

The Presidents opened the fourth quarter on a 12-1 run to take command of the game, 70-51, and Geneva never challenged again with W&J pulling away for an 80-65 victory.

Melnek finished with a career-high 25 points, including 7-of-14 shooting from three-point range.  Tipton added 24 points and 14 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the season.  Geneva was hurt on the boards, getting outrebounded by W&J 50-33.  The Golden Tornadoes also turned it over 24 times.  Lauren Gilbert led the Presidents with 23 points, with W&J outshooting Geneva 40% to 35%.

"Turnovers hurt us when we cut the lead to three points," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "We had too many empty possessions because of those turnovers, and they ended up being a big reason why we lost tonight's game."

Geneva will have a week off before the Golden Tornadoes head to Waynesburg next Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 115 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the top engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.